And Red Was All Yellow: A Prologue

Welcome, blogosphere, to the inaugural entry of And Red Was All Yellow: One Pissed Off Commie, which I shall hereby refer to as ARWAY:OPOC, for brevity's sake. I suppose before I really get into the thick of things I ought to introduce myself to readers, so relax, grab a chair, and listen to my tale.

My name is Oceanus Quinn, I'm a 22 year old college student, and I'm just like everybody else. I'm young, I'm passionate about speaking my mind, and I can't tolerate even the slightest trace of ignorance. I've been told I'm an opinionated kind of guy, and you know what? I like things that way. I'd rather "offend" some people with my ideas than bore them with my apathy. I think the worst thing someone can do is just keep everything inside; that's not what I'm about. I'm about action. I'm about change. I'm about everything the government and its corporate buddies despise.

I'd like to think there was a time in human history when people trusted those who ruled above them, when ideas could easily be exchanged and no voice was left unheard. Maybe some of you more cynical types would disagree with me, but I believe that mankind at least has the capability to do good, to practice proper democracy and do what's ultimately best for its own survival. Of course, it's hard to keep my faith strong nowadays, when giant corporations rule the world and my government is one inch short of a theocracy. Let's just say that America, and indeed, most of the world, has drifted far, far away from the human ideal.

I know that there are people that agree with me. Do you know how I know? Because a lot of them wrote books about it. Karl Marx, which I'm sure most of you have at least heard about in high school (but knowing how horrible public education is nowadays I wouldn't be surprised if such a "radical thinker" were completely cut out of the curriculum, sigh...), is one such person. He wrote a pretty famous piece of literature, along with a guy named Freidrich Engels, called The Communist Manifesto. If you haven't read it yet, READ IT. It's seriously amazing stuff. I remember when I first came across this great work; I was a sophomore in high school and my history teacher had mentioned it casually while we were studying the late 19th century. Of course, he didn't expect any of us to actual read the damn thing, but his apathy and disregard for academia didn't stop me. I went on Amazon.com the very same night and ordered a copy (I would highly recommend you pick up this collector's edition - it has a really nice cloth cover that looks very professional). After waiting anxiously for three days of shipping and handling (it would have been two, I recall vividly, had the damned UPS guy not come by when I was out watching a movie...), I had at last procured the coveted tome.

I spent the next month reading what was and will probably remain the greatest piece of literature I have ever had the pleasure to read. These guys just got it. They understood everything that was wrong with the world, and this was back in the late 1800s! The oppression of the working class, the greed of the bourgeoisie - things normal people tend to take for granted in a world dominated by consumerist pleasures and distractions. I won't harp too much on this great piece of work because I truly believe in order to fully appreciate it, you'll have to read it yourself. I warn you, some of the concepts that Marx and Engels discuss might seem "out there" or "radical" - I assure you this is only what you've been conditioned to believe. There is an entire world beyond the one you know; have an open mind and explore a little. I should also mention that this is some seriously dense reading, definitely not for the literary dabblers of the world. The language is beautiful, but at times archaic. You're going to need to stop and actually think about what you're reading (I know, what a shocking concept!). Some people can accept new ideas easier than others; if you're having difficulties reading this, try opening your mind a little. I guarantee you'll learn something.

I don't have much else to say about this wonderful work other than it's pretty much going to be required reading for all subsequent entries of this blog. That's not to say that I'm always going to be talking about communism, or even directly referring to the text, but in order for you to "get" where I'm coming from, you're going to have to do some homework. Of course, I'm hoping that everyone who comes here has already read The Manifesto on their own accord, but I know that there are people nowadays who seem to fear the idea of being "smart." Trust me: if you read The Manifesto, your head's not going to explode and you're not going to start smelling like plants. You will, however, be able to appreciate the world in a new light and begin to understand the struggle that we all face. So once again, BUY AND READ THE DAMN BOOK!

People who subscribe to the ideas presented in The Manifesto are often called Marxists or Communists. I honestly find the words interchangeable but I prefer myself to be called a Communist because, well, it just sounds cooler. You might have heard about Communists before; they were kind of a big deal in the middle of the 20th century during the Cold War, which, without going too much into detail, was pretty much one of the biggest conflicts in human history. It lasted for over thirty years and a lot of people died for a lot of stupid reasons, some of which are still beyond me. One of the main reasons so many people died was because America, that's right, our America, didn't understand what Communism actually was. They thought that Communism was a horrible thing that killed twenty million and denied people basic human liberties, when in fact, Communism guaranteed equality for everyone and most Communist countries enjoyed a much higher standard of living than many Americans. Why would the U.S. government propagate lies about such a wonderful ideology? The same answer for every other stupid, ignorant, and unfair thing the country has done: MONEY. That's right; our precious "land of opportunity" let its own soldiers die just so that we could make a few extra bucks and stop something that could have helped a whole lot of people in the process. You see, America is a capitalist society, which is pretty much the opposite of a communist society. Whereas communism preaches equality, capitalism preaches inequality. Obviously a capitalist society can't exist if people want to be equal, so it must spread lies about communism in order to stay alive. The end result: the rich get richer, the poorer get poorer, and everyone suffers. Sorry to shatter everyone's reality of a perfect world.

The Cold War might be long over, but capitalism's oppressive grasp is still as tight as ever. Today we live in a world dominated by corporations who want only one thing: our money. What could be worse? How about a government that caters to these greedy bastards? Yep, America's got that too, and things have only gotten worse since the reign of George "Boo Dollah Sign H" Bu$h, who is without a doubt the worst president in this country's history. This guy has pretty much secured capitalism's hold on America forever. Barack Obama is definitely going to fix a few things, but even a visionary like him can't do everything.

That's where I come in, and I hope you'll join me too. I'm here to help put an end to all the lies, tricks, and injustices our country has committed. I'm here to spread the word of one the most flawless, empowering ideologies that has ever been devised. I'm one pissed off commie, and I'm not gonna take it anymore (kudos if you catch the reference!).

The majority of this blog will be composed of posts much like this one. Hard-hitting, no-nonsense, informative factoids designed to prepare you, the reader, with the ammunition needed to fight the government-corporate machine. I'll be covering everything from the past (for as you know, those who do not know it are doomed to repeat it) to the present in my quest to shed light on the truth and bury away the lies. I know this might seem like a lofty task, but I assure you that I am up to the challenge. This is something for which I am quite passionate, and my resolve will certainly not falter.

That said, I know that a lot of the things I talk about can come off as pretty heavy, so I'm going to allow readers some breathing room with some lighter content to ease the tension. This will include book/music/movie/video game reviews, random anecdotes, my take on current events, as well as those various personal ramblings that I just can't keep contained in that crazy mixed up head of mine.

And so concludes my first entry! Whew, it feels good to get all that stuff down on the page. I hope that you will enjoy reading the blog as much as I will writing it. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, leave a blog comment or drop me an email at oceanusquinn@gmail.com and I'll get back to you ASAP. I truly want ARWAY:OPOC to be a communal effort (hehe!), so even if I'm the only person whose name you'll find on the main page, rest assured, your voice will be heard by all who are willing to listen. So, without further ado, enjoy the blog!